Cody Alday and Kendra Curran were practicing passing the baton at Plainfield High School track on April 1. They and a group of their teammates were getting ready for practice on a day full of sun and promise. Not even a track full of young runners disturbed them.

Plainfield returns a strong team of boys and girls to the 2015 season. The girls will be defending their 2014 ECC small division title, and the boys are looking to grab it this year after being edged out by Windham last year. "The guys are definitely knocking on the door," said coach Kevin Grant. "They have the top end performers to do it. And we have new bodies to help us out."

Grant and assistant coaches Paul Kelly, Christopher Dodge, Wayne Durrigan and Bernie Dennler will share their experiences to help athletes on both teams prepare for the season. Kade Amster, Cody Alday and Morganne Collins will captain the Panthers.

Returning for the Panthers is Kade Amster, who finished sixth in the state's open indoor track field, seventh in New England, and eighth in the Emerging Elite New Balance National meet in New York City. "He's at the top of the field in the state," Grant said.

The Panthers will rely on Cody Alday, an ECC champ in the 60-meter dash, and Ryan Saros, a runner up in the 1600 class, and relay members Andrew Desay and Ryan Marchessault, who finished third in the state.

The girls' team has an equally strong returning core group, in spite of losing four all-conference distance runners Kathryn Sanborn, Liz Larned, Kathleen Silviera and Kerri Ruffo. Ruffo, a state champ and state record holder, will be nearly impossible to replace. Sophomore Casey Miller and freshman Brooke Brouillard have been running well and Grant expects them to help fill the holes. Seniors Morganne Collins, Kendra Curran and Serena Gunter will provide depth in hurdles, jumps, sprints and throws. Juniors Julie Jordan, Shamara Hayes, and Mackenzie Niviera-Pompey, will bring experience in sprint events.

"We have a good group of returning athletes," Grant said. "We're loaded this year with seniors. It could be a fun season. I'd love to see them get a plaque at the state meet."